


Everybody Talks

by damnitashtonirwin



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: 5 Seconds of Summer - Freeform, F/M, epic Jack/OFC friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-03-04 12:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3067448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damnitashtonirwin/pseuds/damnitashtonirwin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stella’s life looked more and more like a bad parody of a wayward rockstar throwing her life away. In a last desperate attempt to save her image, her manager arranged a fake relationship with another famous musician.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Groaning loudly, Stella awoke to the incessant sound of her phone buzzing somewhere near her head. Carefully opening one eye to the intruding light in the room, she located the device sitting on the night stand next to the bed she currently inhabited. Freeing one arm from the covers wrapped around her body, she reached out and grabbed the phone, trying to ignore the pounding in her head that only worsened when she saw who was calling her.

“’Ello,” she grumbled, answering her phone.

“Stella Marie Taylor, where are you?! You were supposed to be at the studio ten minutes ago, you have an interview!” the shrill voice of her manager sounded through the phone.

“What interview?” Stella groaned.

“The promotional for your next album!” her manager all but screeched, “Stella, please don’t tell me you’re still in bed.”

“Uh, I’m not still in bed?” she replied, taking a look around the hotel room.

Clothes were scattered everywhere from her indecisiveness on what to wear last night; a few bottles were on the floor, and as she took a look down her own figure, she noticed she was still wearing last night’s outfit.

Hearing her manager breathe a heavy sigh through the phone, she was brought out of her thoughts.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to take a shower and change into a fresh set of clothes, because I know there’s a 99% chance you’re still wearing your outfit from last night. I’m going to send a car that will pick you up in approximately 15 minutes, and then we have to leave it to the hair and makeup department of the show to make you look presentable,” were the tired words from her manager.

Mumbling her agreement, not that she had much of a choice, Stella hung up the phone and staggered towards the bathroom. Seeing her reflection in the mirror, she cringed at the sight of her smudged makeup making her resemble a raccoon more than the rock-chick that had become her brand. Tearing her gaze away from the train wreck her reflection resembled, she quickly shed her clothes before stepping into the shower to rid herself of the smells of last night and wash away the remnants of makeup on her face. Today was already another day to mark up as a fuck-up in the life of Stella Marie Taylor, and she just wanted to get it over with.


	2. Chapter 1

Rolling up in front of the studio lot, Stella made sure her sunglasses were perfectly placed on her face. She really didn’t fancy the thought of some paparazzi getting a shot of her makeup-less face, not to mention the dark circles under her eyes that she hadn’t had time to cover up before leaving. She could just see herself ending up in one of those slideshows of “can you recognize these stars without makeup”, and that was really not on the top of her to-do list. According to her manager, her reputation was already damaged enough.

Exiting the car as it came to a stop, she ducked her head, keeping her gaze on the ground as she walked towards the right building. She had been on today’s show before and knew her way around. Never the less, she had barely made it to the door before her manager was in front of her, tapping her foot impatiently.

“You are so late, missy,” she practically hissed, “I want you in hair and makeup right away!”

Not wanting to rile up her manager even further, Stella simply pushed her sunglasses up to rest on top of her head and made her way towards where she knew the hair and makeup people were located. Apparently they too had felt the wrath of her manager, because Stella had barely sat down in her assigned chair before both women were over her, poking and pulling with their respective tools. Closing her eyes when the makeup-girl told her to, Stella let out a quiet sigh and allowed herself to zone out while the women did their jobs.

The last gust of hairspray had barely been applied before she was yanked from the chair by her manager.

“Okay, so you’re on after the segment on which celebrities became parents this year. They’re going to ask a few questions about the next album, and then they’re going to ask some of those generic personal questions. I know you hate those questions Stella, but _please_ , just humor them,” her manager rambled.

“Seriously Abigail, I just don’t understand how my personal life is any of their business,” Stella mumbled in reply, “I’m here to talk about the album, not for them to make me look even more of a fuck-up than I already am.”

“Stella, you are not a fuck-up,” her manager retorted, stepping in front of Stella, making them both stop in their tracks, “I know things are a bit rough at the moment, but once the new album comes out, all this crap will be forgotten, so let’s just get it over with, okay?”

“Easy for you to say,” Stella mumbled, “you’re not the one getting bashed or slut-shamed on national television.”

Abigail either didn’t hear her or simply chose not to react to the comment, because once again she was more or less dragging Stella down the corridor to the studio.

After the most boring 15 minutes of listening to the host ramble about the newest celebrity parents, it was time for an ad-break, meaning that Stella had to be seated in front of the cameras while techs were fussing over her, trying to find the right placement on her cut-up t-shirt for the microphone while the host pretended to be happy to see her.

“Ahh Stella, long time no see, I’ve been looking forward to-“ she heard his overly chipper voice say before she tuned him out, but not forgetting to plaster on her fakest professional smile.

To be honest she really didn’t want to do this interview. The host of this particular show was known to throw the guests a real curveball every once in a while, mostly taking a jab at something in their personal lives, and it definitely wouldn’t be the first time Stella had been the target. Once she had to sit through him taking a verbal swing at her habit of partying, making her look like the trashiest clubber when in reality the pictures he brought up were from a friend’s birthday party. Sure, she might have been the type to party more than what most would deem healthy, but she had her reasons, and none of those were anybody’s business.

The ad-break was over way too soon for Stella’s liking, and once again she made sure her lips were spread in a most professional smile as the host introduced her.

“Today I am joined by none other than the wonderful Stella Taylor, who is here to discuss her upcoming album,” the host said in what Stella called his on-air-voice, “Stella, thank you for coming, it’s been a while!”

“It really has, Mitch,” she allowed herself to say with a giggle, “thank you for having me.”

“So, this album is the successor to your last album, ‘Reputation’, which received some rather good reviews. What can we expect from the new album?” Mitch asked.

“Well, some of the songs are really honest,” she replied, knowing he didn’t really care, “I think as an artist, sometimes you need to be really honest with not only yourself but your fans as well, and I think the songwriting on the new album has a much deeper level of honesty than ‘Reputation’ did.”

“Wise words, Stella, wise words indeed,” Mitch hummed, “Can you give us an example?”

“I can’t give you anything specific, since the album is still mostly under wraps, but there will definitely be some honest talk about certain feelings that I know most of us have at times,” Stella replied, deliberately keeping her answer as vague as possible.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Abigail give her a discreet ‘thumbs up’ at her answer.

“Well, I’m sure it’s going to be worth the wait,” Mitch said with a wink that only made Stella want to gag.

“Now, Stella,” he continued, “I heard there was a bit of an incident today with you going MIA?”

Seeing her manager’s smile freeze immediately, Stella knew this had the potential to get ugly really fast.

“What can I say,” she replied, forcing out a chuckle that probably sounded way too strained, “I overslept, it happens to the best of us, right?”

“Oh, so it doesn’t have anything to do with this?” Mitch smirked, reaching across his desk to grab a piece of paper and holding it up.

Stella froze. In his hand was a tabloid photograph showing her in last night’s outfit, stumbling out of the club she had been at. It took her a moment to process what was happening before turning to face the host full on.

“You know what Mitch, this is bullshit,” she ground out, not caring for the shocked gasps from the audience.

“I came on your show to talk about my new album and my career, not to feed your need to bash your guests simply because you can’t stand that someone is more successful in their field than you will ever be. I have had enough of this shit, I’m leaving.”

With that she stood from her chair and walked towards the backstage area while removing her microphone, tossing it at the nearest tech-guy she saw on her way out. She made her way towards her appointed backstage-room to grab her bag, only Abigail was hot on her heels.

“What the hell was that, Stella?” she seethed, “You can’t just leave an interview because you don’t like what the interviewer says!”

Snatching her bag from where Abigail had placed it on a couch while Stella had been in hair and makeup, she swung the oversized thing over her shoulder before turning towards the woman.

“Abigail, he was way out of line back there! I wasn’t just going to sit there and let him bash me like that” she exclaimed, “Please tell me you didn’t know he was going to bring that up. How did he even get that picture?”

“Stella, I swear I didn’t know,” her manager sighed, “but it still doesn’t make it okay to just walk out like that. Do you have any idea how that makes you look?”

“It makes me look like someone who won’t take any bullshit, that’s how it makes me look,” Stella huffed, “Please Abigail, just get me a car so I can go back to my hotel room and forget this ever happened.”

Simply nodding her head in reply, her manager turned on her heels before fishing out her phone to call for a car. Knowing it would be at least 10 minutes before the car got there, Stella slumped down on the couch running a hand though her dark hair, not caring that she messed up the hairstyle the poor stylist had rushed to get perfect, as she closed her eyes. No, walking out of the interview had not been a smart move, but she was just so tired of the endless bashing of her from interviewers like Mitch, and right now, all she wanted to do was to curl up under the covers and sleep the rest of the day away, hoping to put another awful day behind her.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the boys finally make an appearance!

There was a peacefulness in the air aboard the 5 Seconds Of Summer tour bus. The boys were finishing the last leg of their headline-tour and to be quite honest, they were more than ready for a little downtime and not being on the road. The four young men were gathered in the lounge-area of the bus occupying themselves with random tasks to pass the time they would be travelling. Luke and Calum were engaged in the 37th Fifa-match of the day, Ashton was scrolling through various social media sites on his phone, and Michael was on his computer, eagerly scrolling away at various sites. It obviously wasn’t quiet due to Ashton’s occasional chuckles at a particularly funny tweet here and there, as well as the occasional “Dude, you cheated!” “I did not, I scored that goal fair and square” from Luke and Calum, but for the last couple of minutes, Michael had been unusually quiet.

“Dude, that was a foul tackle!” Luke exclaimed.

“If you don’t like the smell in the bakery, get out of the shop,” Calum merely snickered in reply before Michael spoke up.

“Hey guys, come check this out.”

The three guys addressed rose from their seats (not without complaints from Calum, though, because he was “obviously about to win and Michael was disturbing his mojo”) and gathered around their band mate, who was pointing to something on his laptop screen.

“Okay, so I was looking through some Tumblr fan-sites, and this kept popping up,” he said, gesturing towards a set of gifs, “Apparently Stella Taylor blew up at an interview and walked out.”

Silence fell for a few moments as the boys read the captions on the gifs, which looked to be quotes from the event they showed. Calum let out a low whistle as he read a part where she apparently accused the host of needing to bring other people down in order to feel better about himself.

“Are those quotes legit?” Luke asked.

“I don’t know, but I think this is a link to the clip itself, so let’s find out,” Michael replied before clicking on a linked piece of text underneath the set of pictures.

A YouTube window popped up with a clip titled “Stella Taylor’s outburst on the Mitch Johnson Show”. As the clip played, the boys fell into a concentrated silence, focusing on the events playing out on the screen. They watched as she politely answered questions about her upcoming album, though as soon as the host had mentioned her going MIA and she replied she had overslept, it was more than obvious to the four friends that the question made the young woman highly uncomfortable, and when the host brought out a photo that they all knew were meant to incriminate her, Calum let out another low whistle.

“Dude, that was a low blow,” he muttered before the other boys shushed him.

Silence fell once more, only broken by the voice of Stella coming out of the computer’s speakers as she blew up at the interviewer before storming off and the clip ended.

“Poor girl,” Luke said, sympathy evident in his voice.

“She’s got balls,” Michael stated as his lips spread in a grin, “I like her.”

“I don’t think that was a smart move of her to make,” Ashton mumbled.

“Bro, have you seen how much shit she gets from the media? I don’t blame her for blowing up. Honestly, it was just a matter of time, I think,” Calum stated.

“I know, but imagine what they’re going to say about her now,” Ashton replied, watching as Michael scrolled through some of the comments on the clip, “I mean, some of these comments alone say it all.”

“Finally, proof of what a crazy bitch she is,” Michael read aloud from the comment-section, “How long do you guys think it will be before she goes Britney Spears-crazy… Oh man, and these aren’t even the worst comments there are.”

“At least some of the viewers back her up,” Luke said, reading the comments on the screen from over Michael’s shoulder, “This one says she’s proud of Stella for sticking up for herself, no matter what the media might say about her.”

“Still, with a new album coming up, this is really not the best publicity to get,” Ashton protested.

“Bad publicity is better than no publicity, isn’t that how the saying goes?” Calum smirked, earning nods in reply from Luke and Michael.

“Look,” Ashton sighed, “All I’m saying is, she should be more worried about keeping her fan-base right now. I don’t know if you guys have seen, but people have been getting pretty nasty about her on Twitter, saying how she barely interacts with them anymore.”

“Why would she when they bash her?” Michael replied, “I’ve seen those tweets too, most of them are from people who are supposed to be her fans.”

“I don’t know, guys,” Luke said, “I’ve been following her on Twitter, and it’s been weeks since she last tweeted anything. No activity on Instagram either, it’s like she fell off the face of the Earth if it wasn’t for the interviews and candid pictures in the tabloids.”

“Speaking of those candid pictures, apparently she knows how to party,” Calum chuckled, apparently scrolling through said pictures on his phone.

“Why are we even discussing this?” Ashton sighed, “It’s not like we have anything to do with her. Yeah, it sucks that she had to go through that, but we have our own tour, career and fan-base to worry about.”

“Whatever, mate,” Michael mumbled, “I still think she’s awesome, and I love our fans for sticking up for her on Tumblr.”

Ashton opened his mouth to reply to Michael, but was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing.

“Hold that thought, Mike,” he said before picking up, “Hello?”

“Hello, is this Ashton Irwin of 5 Seconds Of Summer?” a female voice said on the other end.

“Yes, that’s me,” Ashton confirmed.

“Hello Ashton, my name is Abigail Jensen, manager of Stella Marie Taylor. Do you have a moment?”


	4. Chapter 3

Tapping her foot impatiently, Stella waited outside Abigail’s office. Her manager had called her in for a meeting and to be honest, Stella was beyond nervous. After her big blow-up on the Mitch Johnson show, the public and more importantly the media had been severely divided into two camps; one was waiting for her Britney-esque breakdown and the other was praising her for standing up for herself. Never the less, Stella had been preparing herself mentally all morning for the scolding she expected to come.

The door to Abigail’s office opened and the woman in question stepped out.

“Stella, honey,” the woman greeted with a smile, “come on in.”

Stella took a deep breath before standing to join the woman. As Abigail closed the door behind them, she motioned for Stella to take a seat in front of the massive desk in the room.

“So, Stella,” she began, “I assume you’ve seen the reactions from the media and the fans?”

Stella replied with a shrug. She had obviously seen the headlines on various online articles that would pop up here and there, but she had mostly avoided going on social media sites to spare herself the nastiest comments. She only knew that people were divided over the situation.

“Well, thankfully the division of supporters and negative people is pretty even, so we might be able to avoid a full on scandal here,” Abigail continued, “We do need to take some sort of action here, though. I know you’re not usually one for public statements, but it might be the way to go about this.”

“And what would I say?” Stella scoffed, “That I’m sorry for sticking up for myself?”

“Not necessarily,” Abigail replied, “but at least acknowledging that you lost your head for a moment might be a good start.”

“I doubt that would help, though,” Stella argued, “People have already labeled me as a psycho bitch. No matter what I say, they wouldn’t believe it, and next thing I know they’ll be calling me a hypocrite or a faker.”

“Hmm yes, I had a feeling you would say that,” Abigail replied, “Which is why I have another proposition for you.”

“What kind of proposition?” Stella asked, narrowing her eyes. She was pretty sure she wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear. She could usually tell by the look on her manager’s face, and right now, it looked like bad news.

“Well, the public needs to see you have a bit more stability in your life. I know, I know,” she said, throwing her hands up to stop Stella from interrupting, “You’re a 22-year old rock star touring the world, stability isn’t really a word you would associate with your lifestyle. However, the partying and showing up late and/or hungover to interviews and events has got to stop. It’s really not flattering to your image, and with your new album coming out soon, you’re going to need to clean up your act.”

“Which is why,” she continued, eyeing Stella carefully to gage her response, “I have set up a meeting with 5 Seconds Of Summer and their management to discuss the possibility of setting up a fake relationship between you and one of the boys.”

“You did _what_?!” Stella exclaimed, shocked and outraged at her manager’s proposition.

“Stella, the fans need to know you’re not going to spiral out of control, they need –“

“They need to mind their own damn business! If they are my fans, they should only need to focus on my music. My personal life is none of their business, and I will most definitely _not_ play happy families with a member of some boyband to please them,” Stella seethed.

“Stella Marie Taylor, you listen to me,” Abigail said sternly, “Your reputation is going down the drain and it will take your career with it if you’re not careful! I’m only doing this for your own good.”

“You mean _your_ reputation is going down the drain because of me,” Stella retorted.

“Stella, I am doing this for you, whether you believe me or not,” Abigail replied with a tired sigh, “Listen, you can fight this all you want, but in the end it’s a management decision. If you’re really that unhappy with the options I give you, you’re welcome to find someone else to manage your career, but believe me, I am doing this because I care about you and I want you to succeed.”

“Who are these guys anyway?” Stella sighed.

A small smile spread across Abigail’s face, knowing that this was the first step for Stella to agree with her arrangement.

“Like I said, they’re called 5 Seconds Of Summer, and they’re a pop-punk band from Australia. They’re currently finishing up the last leg of their latest headline tour, they’re actually not a boyband even though they opened for One Direction on two tours in a row, and they have a reputation for being well-rounded, well-mannered young men, at least when they’re out in public,” Abigail explained, “I think they would be good for you.”

“Which one would I be dating? I mean, I obviously can’t date all of them,” Stella grumbled, still not completely sold on the idea.

“Well no, seeing as there’s four of them, that would not help your reputation the slightest,” Abigail agreed, “I was thinking that Ashton, the drummer, would be the best match for you. He’s the oldest, younger than you by two years though, and from what I’ve heard he’s a responsible and mature young man.”

“And what exactly would your little arrangement consist of?” Stella asked.

“Mainly public appearances together,” Abigail explained, “Of course there would be red carpet events that you would attend together, but you would also be expected to be seen out and about for the paparazzi to capture.”

“So basically I need to babysit a 20-year old and his friends to better my reputation?” Stella spat.

“Well, if you want to put it like that, then basically yes,” Abigail retorted.

When Stella didn’t respond, Abigail let out a sigh.

“Stella, I know this is less than ideal, but I’m all out of other options here,” she said gently.

“I know, just… Can I have some time to think about this?” Stella sighed, rubbing her temples.

“Of course you can,” Abigail replied warmly, “I have a meeting scheduled with them two weeks from now, which I need you to be present at as well. You have until then.”

“And Stella, please,” she added, “Tone down the partying, just a bit.”

With that, Stella knew the meeting was over, and with a court nod in reply she rose from her seat to exit the room. This was not how she had expected the meeting or her day to play out, but as she placed her sunglasses on her face before exiting the building, one thought filled her head.

“ _You gotta do what you gotta do._ ”


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I am on a roll here, mainly because I absolutely love Stella to death already. Idk, she might be the best OC I've ever created.

The two weeks of time to think were up, and Stella had not really given much thought to the boy her manager wanted her to use to better her reputation. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t thought about looking up these 5 Seconds Of Summer-boys on the internet, but it had remained at just that; a thought. Of course she had also tried to cut back on the partying and the drinking; keyword here being “tried”, because she could only decline so many party invitations before people would start to suspect something was up.

Which was why on the day of the meeting with 5 Seconds Of Summer and their management, she awoke with a pounding headache, wearing last night’s clothes with last night’s makeup smeared all over her face, to the sound of her phone ringing. Talk about déjà vu.

“Hello,” she groaned into the receiver.

“Stella, it’s Abigail,” said her manager through the phone, “I just wanted to make sure you were on time for today’s meeting.”

“What time is it?” Stella moaned.

“It’s 10.30, the meeting starts at 12,” Abigail replied, “so don’t worry, there’s no rush. You will be picked up at 11.45, so I would suggest that you got out of bed and got ready.”

“Alright, I’m up, I’m up” Stella replied with a yawn before ending the conversation.

Traipsing across the room and into the bathroom, she stopped for a brief second to grimace at her reflection. She knew being hungover was never a good look on anyone, but these past two weeks she had tried, she really had, and that had to count for something.

By the time 11.30 rolled around, she had showered, changed into a fresh set of clothes and done her hair and makeup as well as ordered a quick room-service breakfast. While she ate, she pulled out her phone and did a quick Google-search on the boys she was about to meet. The first site to pop up was their Wikipedia page, but honestly, that was too much reading when she was still on her first cup of coffee of the day. Instead she put away her phone, sipping the last of her coffee thinking that she would be introduced to them soon anyway, so it wouldn’t really matter.

25 minutes later she stepped into the lobby of the management company housing her. She gave a brief “good morning” to the elderly secretary, who, as always, greeted her with a beaming smile, before she made her way to the elevator that would take her to Abigail’s office. Stella silently prayed that she wouldn’t have to share the elevator with anyone, especially not the four young men she was about to meet, but of course her luck would have it that as soon as she stepped onto the elevator, she heard a male voice yell out.

“Hey, hold the elevator, please!”

Heaving a sigh, she decided that if she really were to spend time with them, first impressions would be crucial. So she did as requested; she held the door open as the four guys she really could have waited five more minutes to meet stepped on accompanied by an older man.

“Thanks,” the one who had yelled out said with a dimpled grin.

Deciding she had used up her quota of being nice for the hour, she merely nodded in response and pressed the floor number. Whatever niceties Abigail expected of her could surely wait a few more minutes. During the ride up she could feel four pairs of eyes on her, but she simply pretended not to notice their less-than-subtle staring and whispers of “dude, that’s her”, “I know Michael” and “guys shut up, you’re being rude”.

As soon as the elevator doors opened she bolted out, headed straight for her usual spot on one of the leather couches in the waiting area outside Abigail’s office. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her companions take up the other couch (which was quite a sight really, seeing four lanky guys trying to fit onto a three-person couch) while their manager took a chair nearby. Deciding to relish the last few minutes of what she considered her freedom, Stella closed her eyes and tuned out for a moment, enjoying the emotional safeguard of her sunglasses.

Those moments passed way too quickly for Stella’s liking though, because not long after, Abigail came out of her office, offering a friendly smile to the motley crew assembled in the lounge.

“Ah, I see you’re all here,” she greeted, “come on in.”

The boys all but scrambled to get off the couch and into the office, closely followed by their manager, where as Stella trudged slowly behind them. Her reluctance must have been obvious, because as soon as she passed Abigail, the woman whispered a low “be nice” to her. Stella merely gave a short nod in return as she joined the males assembled in the office.

When everyone was seated (Stella, of course, chose the chair furthest away from everyone) and after shooting Stella a glare that said “sunglasses off, now”, Abigail began.

“Well gentlemen, welcome,” she said, “As you know, we’re here to discuss the possibility of an arrangement between one of you and Stella. I suppose you’re all aware of the current situation?”

As the boys nodded that yes, they were aware, Stella was already fighting back laughter. Abigail only ever brought out the big, fancy words when she really wanted to land a deal or arrangement, and at that moment she was certainly pulling out the big guns.

“Well, as I told your manager,” she said with a nod towards the older man, “And you, Ashton,” she nodded towards the dimpled guy who had talked to Stella in the elevator, “We’re here to discuss a fake relationship to better the reputation of my client, Stella. I explained the finer details to your manager, who I trust have relayed the information to you.”

“He has,” the dimpled guy, Ashton, said, sharing a brief look with his band mates, “And we agree to accept your proposition. We want to do it.”

“You do?” Stella asked incredulously, forgetting for a moment to keep up her disinterested façade, “Why?”

The guy with the bright red hair shrugged.

“You’re going through some shit, and we want to help,” he said matter-of-factly, “besides, you seem cool when you’re not bitching out talk show hosts.”

Stella had to fight back a smile at his response, even more so when Ashton discreetly elbowed him and muttered a quiet “dude, language”.

“Whatever,” Stella scoffed, quickly reverting back into her stand-offish ways, “If you want to play charity, suit yourselves.”

As Abigail and the guys proceeded to discuss the finer works of the arrangement, Stella allowed herself to take a closer look at the four young men. The one named Ashton obviously was very engaged in the conversation, the two as of yet unnamed guys were joking quietly amongst themselves if the chuckling was anything to go by, and the red-head named Michael was glancing at her every now and again, shooting her a small, reassuring smile when he saw her looking at him.

That was the moment Stella decided that, shitty as the arrangement was and annoying as Dimples might be, that Michael guy just might be a new friend in the making.


	6. Chapter 5

After the meeting with Abigail and the 5SOS boys (as she had learned was the correct abbreviation of their band name), Stella felt like she had used up her quota of being nice for the day, and then some. Sitting in her hotel room flicking aimlessly through the channels on the big TV in the lounge area, she decided that sitting on her ass all night would make her stir-crazy. She needed to get out.

After finding some music channel to play in the background, she started the task of getting ready to go out. She changed her clothes to a more club-friendly outfit and started touching up her makeup, adding a little more to it since it was appropriate for the occasion. A new song came on the channel, and Stella subconsciously started nodding along to the beat, finding the song rather catchy. As she was mid-stroke in applying a little more of her eye shadow, her eye caught the reflection of the TV behind her making her freeze for a moment before turning around.

There on the screen were the four young men she had just met this afternoon, only this time they were wearing different ridiculous super hero outfits and doing stunts. A little bubble came up on the screen telling her the song was called “Don’t Stop”, and she immediately abandoned her makeup for a moment, taking in just what she was seeing.

“So this is the kind of music they make,” she scoffed to herself, but at the same time having to fight back a laugh due to the deliberate ridiculousness of the video. Not long after, the song ended, and Stella went back to the task of getting ready.

An hour later she was walking up to the club. It was a place she frequented quite often, and as she walked straight past the line of people waiting to get in, in her mind she was thankful for her celebrity status. She would not have had the patience to wait in line for hours to get into her favorite clubs, not that she would have been able to afford it either, but this was one of the perks of her current lifestyle.

As she walked up to the entrance, she saw the familiar face of one of the regular bouncers. He was nice, never gave her any shit and had actually small-talked with her on quite a few occasions. Walking up to him, she shot him what was her first real smile in a few weeks.

“Stella,” he greeted her with a smile, “Good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, Jeff,” she replied, “It’s been a while since I last saw you here.”

“Yeah, my wife and I just had our second baby a few weeks ago, so I’ve been staying home to help out,” the man beamed with pride.

After congratulating the new father, Stella made her way inside and went straight for the bar. Once again due to being who she was, a bartender quickly spotted her and took her order. She knew she could have just gone to the VIP area and ordered from there, but she actually liked being just a face in the sea of people surrounding the bar, waiting to be serviced.

“Well, fancy meeting you here,” a voice said from behind her, making her turn her head.

Standing behind her was one of the boys she had not been introduced to earlier, but through another Google-session she had managed to pair the name with a face. Well, maybe that was over-exaggerating it a bit, but she knew his name started with a C… Caleb? Colum?

“We weren’t properly introduced either, I’m Calum,” he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

“ _Calum,”_ she thought, _“Close enough.”_

Giving him an unimpressed look, she raised one eyebrow and just glanced at his outstretched hand.

“You already know my name, consider us introduced,” she brushed him off, turning back towards the bar to receive her drink from the bartender.

Behind her, Calum put up his hand in mock surrender.

“Well, the guys and I are seated in the VIP lounge, want to join us?” he asked.

“Yeah right,” Stella laughed, “I’ve used up my quota of being nice for today, but thanks for the offer.”

Taking a step closer to her, Calum leaned in to make sure she heard him as he lowered his voice.

“Look, I know you don’t want to do this,” he said, “But the way I see it, this could be a way to ease people into believing that you and Ash are actually dating. People will see you hanging out, having a good time, the works. It will make it more believable than if you just suddenly pop up everywhere holding hands. Trust me, our fans notice that kind of stuff.”

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She was being given what Abigail would call a golden opportunity here, and if her manager found out she had not taken it, Stella knew she would be subjected to a lecture on not being a team player and not doing her part.

She grabbed her drink from the counter, shot Calum a quick nod and stood up.

“Fine, lead the way.”


	7. Chapter 6

Trailing closely behind Calum as he led her towards where the rest of his band was seated, Stella was surprised to find herself feeling nervous. These guys were practically strangers to her, having only met them once, and while she had partied with strangers before, this time was different. These guys were people she was expected to be around in the immediate future, and she knew she had probably not given them the best first impression earlier that day. On top of that, she was a bit baffled by how nice Calum was being. He could have easily dismissed her presence at the bar and gone back to doing whatever he was up to before spotting her, but he had taken the time to convince her to join them, and quite honestly, she did not know how to feel about that.

A shout of Calum’s name brought her out of her train of thoughts as they arrived at the 5SOS-table.

“You brought a friend,” was the cheerful shout from Michael as he noticed her trailing behind his friend.

“Yeah, you guys remember Stella, right?” Calum said as he sat down in what must have been his seat prior to spotting her at the bar.

“Of course we remember her Calum, don’t be an idiot,” Michael replied, scooting over a bit to make room for Stella beside him.

She sat down next to the red haired boy, taking a sip of her drink once she was seated.

“What are you drinking?” Michael asked.

“Malibu and Coke,” she replied with a shrug before taking another sip.

“How girly,” he snickered, “I had you pegged as more of a Jack Daniels kind of chick.”

“It’s a triple,” she deadpanned, raising one eyebrow to accentuate just how little she cared about what he thought.

“Say no more, I take that back,” he chuckled, his demeanor now nothing but friendly.

After being properly introduced to the last member of the band, the blonde-haired Luke, Stella sat back and casually observed the four friends. As her gaze landed on Ashton, she was surprised to find him already looking at her. The two of them simply looked at each other for a few seconds before his lips spread in a friendly, yet slightly timid smile. Stella didn’t blame him, she did come across as rather unfriendly during their earlier encounter. She was still not quite sure what to make of him though, so instead of returning his smile, she once again merely raised an eyebrow to express her disinterest before taking a sip of her drink and turning her gaze back to Calum and Luke, who were apparently discussing their next songwriting-session with some big shot songwriter. Michael noticed her observing his friends and chuckled.

“Yeah, they don’t really understand the concept of time off,” he chuckled.

“You don’t say,” Stella replied, “I get it, though. When you’re a musician, you’re always constantly writing, you know?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” the younger boy replied, “but sometimes you just have to let loose and blow off some steam.”

Nodding her head in agreement, she took another sip of her drink. Based off their limited interaction alone, she decided that she liked Michael. He appeared to be a very straight-forward kind of guy, and she wouldn’t be surprised to find that they had a lot in common.

“I saw one of your music videos earlier,” she confessed to the red-head.

“Really? Which one?” he asked, excitement evident in his voice.

“I think it was called Don’t Stop,” she replied, “It was the one with the ridiculous outfits.”

Michael let out a laugh at her last comment.

“Yeah, that was definitely Don’t Stop,” he chuckled, “what did you think of it? The song, I mean, not the video.”

Taking a sip of her drink, she thought about her response for a moment.

“It was catchy,” she admitted, “Maybe a bit too poppy for my taste, but it had some great riffs and a good melody.”

Michael nodded at her reply.

“Calum and Luke wrote it,” he told her, “They really were the songwriters of the band from the beginning, especially Calum. He wrote our first original song. None of us really knew we actually could write songs, I don’t even think Calum really knew just how good he was, but he wrote it and it turned out great.”

“Well, what did you do before that if you didn’t write your own stuff?” Stella asked, genuinely interested in knowing more about the boys’ history as a band.

“We made YouTube-covers,” Michael admitted, “At first it was just me and Calum, or Luke and Calum, but one day the three of us got together, and that’s how 5SOS was born.”

“What about Ashton?” she asked, not missing the fact that he was absent from Michael’s little tale.

“He joined later,” he explained, “We had our first live gig and realized that holy shit, we were missing a drummer, so I shot him a message and he ended up completing the band.”

“Missing a drummer would be quite bad,” Stella chuckled, surprised at how easy the conversation between her and Michael was flowing.

“Yeah, but it’s not like we were any good back then anyway,” Michael replied with a laugh, “Our first gig was to 12 people.”

“Are you telling her about our first gig?” Calum interjected with a laugh, “Man, we sucked.”

“Please,” Stella snickered, feeling herself start to loosen up due to her alcohol intake and the light-hearted mood around the table, “My first show was at a pub full of old boozers who were more interested in having a full bottle in front of them, you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Smiling widely at the fact that he had actually gotten a friendly reply from her, Calum leaned towards her as if to tell her a secret.

“I like you better when you drink,” he joked.

“What a coincidence,“ she retorted with a smile of her own, “I also like you better when I drink.”

Letting out a loud laugh at her response, Michael held his hand up for a high-five, which she gladly obliged to.

“You really are something else, Stella,” he told her.

“Why thank you, I do try,” she joked back.

Across the table, Ashton stood up abruptly, his face bearing an expression Stella couldn’t quite decipher, before walking off, mumbling something about getting a refill of whatever he was drinking. The four people remaining at the table followed him with their eyes until he was out of sight.

“Well, I’m glad that wasn’t awkward,” Calum said, sarcasm lacing his words.

“What do you mean?” Stella asked.

“Stella, he’s been watching you since you sat down, and I’ve been hogging you while you should have been getting to know him,” Michael said matter-of-factly, “I mean, it’s not me you’re supposed to be dating soon, you’ll have to spend time with him sooner or later.”

“Please, it’s not like I wanted to do this,” she retorted, grabbing her glass from the table.

“At least give him a chance,” Luke piped up from his seat, “He really wants to help you, he’s a nice guy.”

“I’m not some charity case for him to write on his resume,” Stella shot back, slightly annoyed at the turn the conversation had taken.

“He knows that,” Michael stated, “We all do, and I get that you don’t want to do this, but a deal’s a deal, so you’ll just have to suck it up and grin and bear it.”

“God, you sound just like my manager,” Stella scoffed, but a hint of a smile still appeared on her face.

“It’s called tough love, sweetheart,” he joked.

“Ew, don’t ever call me that again,” she chuckled, secretly relieved the mood around the table was lifting again.

A little while later, Ashton returned to the table with a fresh bottle of whatever he was drinking. As he sat down, Stella decided that being at least civil wouldn’t kill her, so when she caught his gaze as it landed on her, she gave him a small smile and a nod. She watched as his eyes widened slightly at her friendly gesture, obviously surprised, but never the less, he gave a smile and nod in return before lifting his bottle in a quiet toast. Mimicking his action with her glass, she held his gaze as they both drank.

“Good girl,” she heard Michael mutter from next to her, “Just take baby steps.”

“Shut up,” she replied in an equally low voice, “Don’t tell me what to do. Also, never call me that ever again.”

He let out a low chuckle at her reply.

“You know what, Stella?” he said, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”


	8. Chapter 7

The next morning, well, rather afternoon, Stella once again awoke with a pounding hangover to the sound of her phone buzzing on her nightstand. Groaning in annoyance, this was becoming too frequent of an event for her liking. Never the less, she managed to untangle herself from the sheets to grab the source of the disturbance that ripped her from her sleep. Glancing at the screen through bleary eyes, she noticed that the call came from an unfamiliar number.

“Hello?” she mumbled down the receiver once she had picked up.

“Stella,” a cheerful voice sounded through the phone, “Rise and shine, it’s time to get your drunk ass out of bed!”

“Michael?” Stella asked incredulously, recognizing the voice of her new friend, “How the hell did you get my number? And for the record, my ass is not drunk, it’s hungover, so shush.”

“Ah, details, dear Stella,” Michael simply replied, “And I may or may not have swiped your number from Ash’s phone, and before you ask, he got it from your manager for, you know, future purposes.”

“Urgh, whatever,” Stella groaned, “What do you want?”

“Well, since you asked so nicely,” Stella could practically hear him smirk through the phone, “Me and the guys are having a hangover-day with everything that comes with it; take-away, crappy TV, you name it. Wanna join?”

Quickly moving her phone away from her ear to check the time, she was surprised to see that it was 2PM. As she placed the phone back to her ear, her stomach decided to prove its impeccable timing by growling loudly.

“Sounds like my kinda gig,” she replied, “Depends on the take-away, though. I have a bad history with Chinese food and being hungover.”

“Don’t worry, we’re ordering a shitload of pizzas,” Michael chuckled on the other end, “Pizza is usually a safe hangover food.”

“I could go for pizza,” was her simple reply.

After getting the address the boys were currently at, the call ended and Stella staggered out of bed to get ready. Sure, she felt no need to impress the boys since they had all witnessed her drunk off her ass the night before, but she still wanted to be somewhat presentable. Today she didn’t even bother looking in the mirror, but went straight for the shower in order to appear less of a mess.

As it turned out, the guys were staying at a hotel just a few blocks away. Sufficiently disguised by sunglasses and a beanie over her still slightly damp hair, her appearance allowed her to blend in with the crowd for once. Sure, she still wore her black skinny jeans, combat boots and a leather jacket over a cut-up t-shirt, but never the less it was toned down enough to allow her just the right amount of anonymity needed in order to walk the short distance in peace.

Once inside, she decided that instead of looking for the room with the number Michael had given her on her own, it was a better idea to ask the receptionist. She made her way over to the front desk, her boots giving off loud thumping noises from the contact with the floor, the sound reverberating in the spacious area.

“Excuse me,” she said to the young lady behind the front desk, “I wondering if you could tell me the way to room 483?”

“For the last time,” the lady sighed, not taking her eyes off the computer screen in front of her, “No fans allowed, sorry.”

Groaning inwardly, Stella should have seen this coming. The boys’ fans probably knew all about where their idols were staying right down to the room number, but it definitely didn’t brighten her mood, not to mention the fact that the woman didn’t sound the least bit sorry.

“I’m not a fan,” she told the young woman, taking off her beanie and sunglasses, “It’s a friendly visit.”

Apparently, that was all it took to get the woman to look up from her computer screen, drawing a soft gasp from her as she did so.

“Stella Taylor, I’m so sorry, I didn’t recognize you,” she managed to splutter out.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Stella assured her before repeating her question from before, “Room 483?”

After receiving a hasty, but accurate description of how to find the room, Stella thanked the woman and made her way towards the elevators. Once inside, she pressed the button for the correct floor and waited as the cart rose. As the doors opened with a soft ding that was still way too loud for her hungover state, she stepped out into the hallway and began her search for the correct room.

It didn’t take long before she stood in front of the door with the correct number on it. Raising her hand, she knocked a few times, waiting for someone to answer. Moments later the door opened, revealing an all-too-chipper Michael.

“Stella,” he greeted her loudly, “You made it!”

“Shh, Michael, indoor-voice,” Stella groaned in reply, “and well, I’m here, aren’t I?”

“That you are,” he grinned, his voice noticeably lower this time, “Come in, come in.”

“Dude, you have way too much energy for someone who was as wasted as you were last night,” she mumbled as she made her way into the hotel room.

“Tell me about it,” Calum said as he appeared from around a corner, “I swear, he has to have a hidden stash of energy drinks somewhere.”

“Calum,” Stella greeted the darker-skinned band mate, “How’s your head?”

“I feel like I’m dying,” he groaned dramatically before leading the way to the lounge area, where Luke was curled up on one half of a couch.

“You just need to learn to handle your liquor,” Michael smirked from behind them.

“Yeah, you just wait, young grasshopper,” Stella replied, “When you get older, your body tends to disagree more and more with any intake of alcohol.”

“But you’re only three years older than me,” Michael argued.

“Exactly,” she deadpanned, “I didn’t get hangovers until I turned twenty, then bam, hangovers from hell. Just let that sink in for a moment and stop talking.”

Letting out a chuckle at Michael’s horrified expression as her remark indeed did sink in, Stella plopped herself down on the other half of the couch Luke was curled up on. Soft snores escaped the blonde’s mouth, his beanie pulled down to cover his eyes from any intruding light.

“That bad, huh?” Stella snickered, motioning towards the sleeping boy.

“Luke gets white-girl wasted,” Calum chuckled, “This is the aftermath.”

Noticing the absence of the curly-haired fourth member of the band, she turned towards Michael.

“Where’s Ashton?” she asked.

“He volunteered to do a snack-run,” the red-head replied, “Apparently the mini-bar wasn’t sufficiently stocked to meet the diva’s demands.”

“That’s because you don’t drink away a hangover,” Calum interjected.

“Hey, it’s possible!” Michael objected.

“Yeah,” Calum scoffed, “That’s called alcoholism in the making.”

“Guys, guys,” Stella cut them off, “Indoor voices.”

As Calum groaned from where he was dramatically sprawled out on the other couch in the room, a silence settled as the three friends (four, if you counted the sleeping figure of Luke) wordlessly decided that surely they could enjoy a few more minutes of silence save for Luke’s snoring as they waited for Ashton to return.


	9. Chapter 8

After enjoying a solid ten minutes of silence apart from the soft snoring coming from Luke, a faint yet high-pitched sound reached Stella’s ears. Her eyes remained shut, but her brow scrunched up in a frown none the less, showing her confusion as to what she was hearing – if she was even hearing it, and it wasn’t just her imagination running wild.

Apparently she was not the only one who heard it, because on the other couch Calum let out a groan, effectively breaking the near-silence of the room.

“I’ll never drink again,” he managed to groan, “I swear I can hear my liver screaming in agony.”

Perking her ears slightly with as much energy as she could muster, Stella listened closely as the sound simultaneously grew in volume. It did indeed sound like screaming, although it sounded nowhere near screams of agony. Opening her eyes, Stella got up and walked over to look out of the window, where her slightly growing suspicion was confirmed.

Outside the hotel was a huge crowd of teenage girls, who were all screaming loudly at something she couldn’t see. She could guess, though, and she turned back towards the boys in the room.

“It’s not your liver, Calum,” she said, “Unless your liver consists of roughly, say, thirty teenage girls and is located outside the entrance to the hotel.”

“In other news,” she continued as she looked out of the window once more, “If he didn’t get his ass inside in time, you might have to look for a new drummer.”

As Michael let out a groan in response to her comment, the door to the room opened before slamming shut again, and a rather disheveled-looking Ashton turned the corner into the lounge-area panting heavily while clutching a full plastic-bag in a death grip.

“Dude, what happened?” Michael asked incredulously.

“I was spotted,” Ashton panted, leaning forwards to rest his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath, “the mob came out of nowhere.”

“Well, if that’s what you’re calling a disguise, I’m not fucking surprised,” Stella piped up from where she still stood next to the window.

At the sound of her voice, Ashton’s head whipped up so fast Stella was surprised he didn’t hurt himself. The surprise of seeing her in the room was more than evident on his face.

“W-what are you doing here?” he stuttered, _he actually stuttered_.

“I invited her over,” Michael replied nonchalantly from his seat next to Calum on the couch.

“Why would you do _that_?” Ashton asked, this time directed at his band mate.

“Because I wanted to,” the red-head shrugged, “Besides, you guys should get to know each other if you’re going to pretend to be dating, so I’m really killing two birds with one stone here.”

“Well, a little warning would have been nice,” Ashton shot back at his friend.

“Wow Irwin, you sure know how to make a girl feel welcome,” Stella muttered as she plopped back down on the couch next to Luke.

“No, no, I – I didn’t mean, I -” the drummer stuttered.

“Save it,” she brushed him off, “I’m way too hungover to deal with excuses right now.”

After setting the plastic bag down on the floor with a huff, Ashton quickly walked off into what Stella assumed was the bedroom of the suite. Calum immediately moved from the couch to examine the contents of the bag, while Michael gave Stella a disapproving look.

“What?” she asked, not failing to notice the look he gave her.

“You know, you don’t have to be such a bitch towards him,” the red-haired boy said, “He’s doing this of his own free will.”

“Michael, he was rude as fuck,” Stella tried defending herself, even though Michael was having none of it.

“He just didn’t expect to see you here, Stell,” Michael reasoned, “He didn’t mean to sound rude, believe me. It just came out wrong.”

“Really, he’s a good guy,” he continued when Stella didn’t reply, “Please, go talk to him.”

“Fine,” she huffed in reply as she got up before making her way past Calum, who was still on the floor examining the contents of the plastic bag, towards the door Ashton had disappeared behind.

Raising her hand, she knocked lightly on the door.

“Irwin? Are you decent?” she asked.

“Come in,” was the muffled reply on the other side.

Opening the door and stepping into the room, the first thing Stella noticed was the younger boy laying face down on one of the beds, feet dangling off the edge.

“Hey,” she muttered, deciding to leave her pride and stubbornness at the door.

Lifting his head from the sheets he had buried his face in, Ashton shifted on the bed so he could look at her.

“Hey,” he replied curtly.

“Can I?” she asked, motioning towards the bed he was laying on.

When he nodded, she gingerly sat down, secretly thankful for the fact that even though they were single beds, they were still rather spacious, which meant that even though Ashton laid in the middle of the bed, she could still sit on the same bed without them having any physical contact.

“So,” she began, “I, uh… I just wanted to say I’m sorry, you know, for before. Well, I guess just for acting like a total bitch in general.”

“I’m sorry too,” Ashton muttered, “I really didn’t mean to sound rude back there, I was just shocked to see you. Michael hadn’t said anything about inviting you over.”

“You’ve been nothing but nice to me otherwise, though,” Stella protested, “I’ve been nothing but horrible to you from the get go, I absolutely wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to see me in your hotel room.”

He sat up cross-legged on the bed, facing her and shrugged.

“I can’t say I blame you,” he replied, “From what I have seen, people have been pretty awful to you over time, it’s only natural for you to keep your walls up.”

“Besides,” he continued, a small smile spreading on his face, “You weren’t a bitch last night. It was actually really nice to see you relax and have fun with the boys, even though you barely said two words to me. You smiled and had fun. You should do that more often, by the way; smile. You’re really pretty when you smile.”

At the realization of his last sentence, a blush broke out on both their faces. His because it was merely a slip of the tongue; a thought he hadn’t meant to share until she had begun opening up to him; and hers because she honestly could not remember the last time someone had told her anything like that without having a more or less obvious ulterior motive.

“Thank you,” she managed to mumble out.

“So, uh,” Ashton gulped, “Are we good?”

He had barely finished his sentence before Michael’s voice was heard from the lounge.

“Damn it, Calum, leave some for the rest of us you greedy pig!”

His outburst caused Ashton to giggle, and honestly, Stella wasn’t sure what surprised her more; that he had actually giggled, or the fact that he had a giggle that sounded more like a schoolgirl than her own ever would. Never the less, she decided that she liked his giggle, not that she was ever going to confess to that under any circumstances.

“Yeah,” she chuckled, “We’re good.”

Standing from her place on the bed, she turned towards the younger boy with a soft smile.

“Wanna join the others before Calum eats everything?” she asked.

The curly-haired guy shot her a wide, dimpled smile and nodded before standing as well and following her to join the rest of his band in the lounge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave feedback through comments, kudos or my Tumblr (also damnitashtonirwin) :) Thank you for reading!


	10. Chapter 9

Over the course of the following hours, Stella had witnessed quite a few things in the company of the four young men, including watching Michael practically inhale an entire pizza within 15 minutes (and in extension learning from Ashton that they did indeed have a song dedicated to the red-head’s love of the Italian dish), a grumpy Luke not-so-gently being woken up by Calum jumping on the couch during the peak of a sugar-high courtesy of the contents of the bag Ashton had brought back, and, probably her favorite moment of the day, Michael and Calum doing their own mock-commentary of the only rom-com everyone could agree on watching while an increasingly annoyed and still hungover Luke repeatedly shushed them because he “actually liked this movie so if they would kindly shut the fuck up, it would be greatly appreciated”.

As she observed the four best friends fooling around, enjoying a day off, Stella was slightly surprised to realize she couldn’t help but envy the boys. They had shared every step of their journey through their surrogate brotherhood of being in a band and had made memories together that they would all share for life in the span of just a few years. As a solo artist, she did not have that; she had had to endure every single rejection, bad review and spiteful tabloid article on her own, having no one by her side who fully understood what she went through. As a band, these boys would at least go through hard times together whereas she was forced to endure it alone.

Lost in these thoughts, she hadn’t noticed the frown forming on her face before Ashton’s voice interrupted her train of thoughts as he gently nudged her shoulder with his own.

“You okay?” he muttered, “You look like you just went off somewhere else for a moment.”

“Yeah, you know, just wondering how Michael hasn’t hurled or exploded yet from inhaling that big-ass pizza,” she lied through her teeth, faking a smile as her previously good mood had just been shattered entirely.

Although he didn’t seem completely convinced by neither her reply nor her smile, Ashton went along with her lie anyway, not pressing the issue further. Not that he would have had the opportunity though, since her phone went off just seconds later. Pulling the device from her pocket, she saw her manager’s name flash across the screen at the incoming call.

“Excuse me,” she said, getting up from the couch, “I have to take this.”

Walking into the bedroom she and Ashton had talked in earlier, she carefully closed the door behind her before answering the call.

“Abigail, hey,” she muttered as she picked up.

“Stella,” her manager breathed a sigh of relief, “Where are you? I’m outside your hotel room, I’ve been knocking on the door for at least 15 minutes so I assume that either you’re somewhere else, or you have gone temporarily deaf.”

“No, no,” Stella allowed herself to chuckle, “No temporary deafness.”

“Well, where are you?” Abigail asked, “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Uhh,” Stella thought for a moment how to respond, “I’m sort of in the same hotel room as 5 Seconds Of Summer?”

“You’re _what_?” her manager replied incredulously, “Stella, please tell me you didn’t screw up the deal already by sleeping with the wrong band member last night.”

“ _What?!_ No,” Stella protested, disbelief now evident in her voice as well, “What the hell, Abigail?”

“Sorry,” the woman sighed, “I just saw the pictures and assumed the worst. That was wrong of me, I’m sorry.”

“How did you know about last night, anyway?” Stella inquired, “What pictures are you talking about?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, the pictures,” Abigail replied, “Apparently someone snapped quite a few pictures of you partying with the boys last night. They’re all over the internet and let me be honest, some of the boys’ fans aren’t very happy about it.”

“Let me guess,” Stella sighed, “They’re worried I’m going to corrupt their precious favorite band?”

“Something along those lines, yeah,” was the reply, “Although some of them used some far raunchier terms from what I’ve heard.”

“Well, that’s just fucking great,” Stella mumbled.

“Stella, is there something I should know?” Abigail asked, knowing all too well by the tone of her client’s voice that all wasn’t well.

“Well, Ashton desperately needs a course in camouflage 101,” she explained, “He was out earlier to get some stuff, got spotted and attracted a crowd of about thirty fans that ended up following him back to the hotel.”

“Just leave out of the back of the hotel and you should be fine,” her manager reminded her.

“Well, Stella,” she continued, “This was obviously not how I had imagined the whole arrangement to start off, but to be honest with you, it does seem like a nice, organic way to ease the idea of you at least being friends into people’s minds. You should probably be seen out together soon to solidify the image of a friendship.”

After humming in agreement and promising to relay the message to Ashton, Stella hung up before sinking down to sit on one of the beds, not really caring about whose it was. It dawned on her that this was really it; this was the start of the lie she would be living for as long as she needed to in order to repair her reputation.

As she walked back out into the lounge area, she found the boys practically where she had left them, but their heads turned to look at her, not even bothering to hide their curiosity.

“My manager,” she explained with a shrug before adding, “You guys should probably check your social media accounts.”

Shooting both Stella and each other confused looks, all four boys got out their phones and started scrolling through their various social media apps. As they each discovered both the pictures from last night as well as their fans’ reactions, their faces changed from confusion to a wide variety of emotions, covering surprise, disbelief, disappointment and, to Stella’s surprise, anger.

“Wow,” Michael simply said, while Calum just muttered a quiet “Shit.”

Luke remained quiet, his brow furrowed in concern for not only himself and his band mates, but also for Stella. Suddenly, Ashton abruptly got up from his seat, his face set in a mask of a mixture of anger and disbelief before storming towards the bedroom Stella had just exited moments before and slammed the door behind him. Stella had to admit that his actions surprised her and turned towards Michael, whose face bore evidence of disbelief as well as disappointment.

As if he had read her mind, Michael let out a sigh.

“He’s just upset at how some of the fans reacted,” he explained, “Even though it won’t be a real relationship, he still wants the fans to like you and be happy for the both of you, so it really bothers him to see some of them react this way just at the idea of you being friends with us.”

“I don’t blame them, though,” Stella replied as she plopped down in the seat Ashton had vacated, “With my reputation anyone would expect me to drag you down with me and corrupt your asses.”

“Well, just so you know,” Michael smirked in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit, “If last night was you being a bad influence on us, you can corrupt my ass any time.”

As a light laughter broke out between Stella and the remaining boys at Michael’s comment, Stella found herself relieved at the fact that even though her impending relationship with Ashton might be fake, the potential friendships she was already forming with the other three boys (and Michael in particular) definitely wouldn’t be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr [here](http://www.damnitashtonirwin.tumblr.com)  
> Feel free to leave feedback through comments and/or kudos, thank you for reading! :)


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the long wait! I was diagnosed with something called a frozen shoulder which is basically an inflammation of the joint, where the inflammation practically locks the joint, making it impossible to move the arm not to mention being extremely painful. It's a lot better now, my shoulder only gets sore if I use my arm too much, but I almost have full movement in my arm again, so that's something.

A few days after the hangover-hangout with the boys (as Calum had decided to call it), Stella realized that in the middle of the fans reacting to the pictures from their night out, she had completely forgot to tell Ashton about Abigail’s suggestion that the pair was to be seen out and about soon.

Deciding she might as well get it over with, she pulled out her phone, texting Michael to ask for Ashton’s number and after a few comments of “took you long enough” and “be gentle, he’s my baby” accompanied by a series of emojis and Stella telling him to “kindly go fuck himself” in response, he caved and sent her Ashton’s number.

After saving the number on her phone, she found herself with a finger hovering over the new contact. Thinking to herself that she might as well get over herself, she took a deep breath before pressing the contact, dialing the new number.

“Hello?” the now familiar voice said after a few rings.

“Uh, hey Ashton, it’s Stella,” she said.

“Oh, hi,” Ashton’s voice sounded on the other end, a smile evident in his tone, “What’s up?”

“Uh, well, remember when Abigail called me the other day?” Stella asked, “You know, when we were hanging out?”

“Yeah, I remember,” he replied.

“Well, uh,” Stella continued, “I forgot to tell you since you kind of stormed off, but she said it might be a good idea to be spotted out together soon, so, uh, I was wondering if you’re doing anything today?”

“No, I’m free today,” Ashton replied, “Cal and Luke are writing today, so Michael and I have the day off. What do you have in mind?”

“Well, how do you feel about coffee?”

Luckily Ashton seemed to agree that going out for coffee would be a good step to ease the fans into the idea of a friendship between the two of them. After deciding on a small coffee shop around the corner, they had agreed that in order to have the best chances at being spotted by the paparazzi, Ashton were to pick her up from her hotel before walking together to the coffee shop.

Thirty minutes later there was a knock on her door. As she opened it she was met with the sight of Ashton in his usual black skinny jeans and a band tee, the look completed with a bandana around his head in an attempt to tame his curls.

“No attempt at disguising yourself today, I see,” Stella smirked.

“What’s the point?” he shrugged, “We want the paparazzi to notice us, right?”

“True,” she agreed, “Well, let me just get my purse and we can go.”

Walking through the lobby towards the entrance, they both reached for their sunglasses, putting them on before exiting the building. As she noticed Ashton’s hand swinging dangerously close to hers as they walked down the street, she pulled her hand away.

“Just friends for now, remember?” she hissed, low enough so only he could hear.

“Right, sorry,” he muttered in reply, discreetly shuffling himself a bit further away from her as they kept walking.

After getting their respective beverages, the two of them found themselves back on the street, cups in hand.

“So, should we sit somewhere, or..?” Ashton asked, scratching the unruly mop of curls on top of his head.

“Maybe we should walk around a bit,” Stella replied, “It would give us a better chance at being spotted, right?”

Nodding his head in agreement, Ashton waited for her to lead the way as they took off.

“So, where to? Anywhere in particular, or just wherever?” he asked.

“There’s a park a few blocks from here,” she muttered, “We could go there.”

“Sure,” he replied before shooting her a small smile, “Might as well give the paps some bushes to hide behind, right?”

As the words left his mouth Stella couldn’t hold back a chuckle, causing Ashton’s smile to widen.

“That’s better,” he muttered just low enough so that only she could hear, “You looked like you were going to a funeral rather than on a coffee-date with a friend.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled, keeping the corners of her mouth lifted in a small smile.

“Don’t apologize, it’s still kind of weird for me too,” he chuckled, “But I stand by what I said the other day. You should definitely smile more often. You’re very pretty when you smile.”

“Thank you,” she managed to mutter, her smile widening a little as she tried to ignore the burning in her cheeks signaling that yes, she was definitely blushing.

As they walked on in silence, barely five minutes passed before the pair noticed that people were indeed noticing the two celebrities casually strolling down the street, and before long, the first sounds of cameras clicking was heard. Nudging her elbow with his own, causing her to look up at him, Ashton shot Stella a secretive smile. As she returned his smile, a soft giggle passed his lips, prompting a chuckle to fall from her own as they walked on, purposely ignoring the growing crowd of paparazzi and curious on-lookers whispering among themselves.

Arriving at the park with a couple of paparazzi not so discreetly in tow, they walked around a bit before sitting down on a bench.

“So,” Ashton said, fiddling with the lid of his cup, “This is nice.”

“It is,” Stella nodded, “It’s… nice.”

“Yeah…” Ashton sighed.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, shooting him a sheepish smile, “I’m really not making this any easier, am I?”

“Not really, no,” he chuckled, revealing his dimples.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, “It’s just, this whole thing is still kind of weird to me, you know? I mean, I’m sure you’re a really nice guy, it’s just…”

“You don’t like being told what to do?” he finished for her.

“Yeah,” she chuckled, “Pretty much.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he smiled softly, “We’ll take this as slow as you want… Or, well, as slow as your manager will let us.”

“Thank you,” she replied with a rare, genuine smile.

“Well, we’re not going to fool anyone if you’re obviously uncomfortable, so,” he shrugged, “Maybe we should start hanging out, you know, just us, without the boys, and get to know each other properly?”

“You’re right,” Stella admitted, “I mean, it’s not like there’s any way out of this, right?”

“Right,” Ashton agreed with a nod.

After a few minutes of silence Ashton’s lips spread in his trademark dimpled smile.

“So,” he said, “Would it be completely inappropriate if you brought me back to your hotel room to hang out?”

“Probably,” she couldn’t help but chuckle, “But you’re forgetting one thing.”

“What’s that?” he smiled.

“I’m supposed to be a bad influence,” she smirked, “Everything I do is apparently inappropriate, including corrupting wholesome Australian rockstars.”

At her reply, Ashton let out a laugh, a loud heartfelt laugh that sounded like it came from deep within his chest.

“Well then,” he chuckled as his laughter died down, “You have my permission to corrupt me. Lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr [here](http://www.damnitashtonirwin.tumblr.com)
> 
> Feel free to leave feedback in the form comments and/or kudos, thank you for reading :)


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long wait! To be honest with you all, this story had taken a turn that I didn't quite expect so I had to figure out how to fix it and get it back on track, but here it is!
> 
> Warning: Foul language

After finishing their respective beverages the pair made their way back to Stella’s hotel, paparazzi still in tow but deliberately ignoring their little entourage. Silence fell between them as they walked, Stella’s hands buried in the pockets of her leather jacket and Ashton’s arms hanging loosely down his sides, swinging ever so slightly as he moved. It wasn’t necessarily an awkward silence, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable either, and Stella could practically hear the cogs turning in her companion’s head as she knew he was thinking of something to small talk about.

The relative peace, not counting the paparazzi still following them, lasted until they were a block away from their destination. They had barely rounded the street corner before a couple of high-pitched voices reached Stella’s ears, the source of the sound being a small group of teenage girls who approached them as they walked towards them.

“Ashton! Hi!” one of the girls beamed.

“Hi girls,” Ashton smiled widely, obviously thrilled to meet some fans.

Stella, on the other hand, had to bite back a groan as the girls surrounded Ashton, talking and giggling a bit too enthusiastically for Stella’s liking. Ashton, however, patiently answered questions and posed for pictures, delighted with the interaction, not noticing how Stella was pushed further and further out of the way by the small crowd of giggling girls.

“Are the other boys with you?” one girl asked, not so discreetly glancing around to see if the rest of the band would appear from somewhere.

“No,” Ashton replied with a smile, “Michael is back at the hotel and Luke and Calum are writing. I’m just out for a walk and some coffee with a friend.”

At the last part he glanced towards Stella, who immediately put on a fake yet hopefully convincing smile to back up his statement. What he didn’t see was the glares some of the girls shot Stella, obviously recognizing her and not liking the fact that he was spending time with her, let alone referring to her as his friend.

One of the girls smiled even wider upon recognizing her though, turning away from Ashton to face her completely.

“Oh my god, I love your jacket,” she gushed, “Where did you get it?”

“Uh, a thrift shop, I think,” Stella answered truthfully, slightly uncomfortable with the situation.

It was no secret that she was nowhere near as used to these kinds of fan encounters as Ashton was, but that didn’t seem to faze the girl, who continued talking to her.

“That’s so cool,” she beamed, “it really is the only way to get that perfect worn-out look, isn’t it?”

Agreeing with the girl, Stella looked over to see Ashton beaming at her over the heads of the girls still surrounding him, obviously pleased to see Stella and the girl talking. Allowing a smile of her own to spread on her face, she had to give credit to the girl for trying so hard to make Stella feel included.

“By the way,” the girl continued, “I really admire you for standing up to that talk show host, he was way out of line!”

“Thank you,” Stella smiled, this time directly at the girl in front of her, “I’m glad someone understands.”

“Oh no, I totally understand, I would have flipped out too,” the girl giggled, “Hey, would you mind taking a picture with me? I really love your music.”

“Absolutely,” Stella grinned, stepping closer to the girl as she pulled out her phone.

Seeing as Ashton was still busy posing for pictures himself, Stella took a few pictures with the girl, the pair of them pulling the weirdest faces at the camera before Ashton’s voice rang out.

“Alright girls, it was really nice meeting you all but we sort of have to get going.”

The girl Stella had been talking to thanked her for the pictures, receiving an “it’s no problem, honestly,” in return. After a slightly awkward hug and a “take care” muttered into the girl’s ear, Stella turned to face Ashton who had broken away from the crowd of girls, waiting for her. He was still smiling from ear to ear as he waved goodbye to the girls while Stella scurried over to him before the two of them continued towards her hotel.

“God, I love meeting fans,” he giggled, causing Stella to chuckle lightly at his enthusiasm.

“Doesn’t it get exhausting though?” she asked, “I would feel so claustrophobic if I got crowded like that.”

“Nah,” he smiled, “You get used to it, to be honest.”

“Besides,” he continued, “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be doing what I love, so I don’t mind it at all.”

“Well they clearly love you guys a lot,” Stella muttered, her smile faltering a bit as she remembered the glares the majority of the girls had given her, “They’re obviously very protective of you guys.”

“Yeah, I guess so?” Ashton replied, clearly not entirely sure what she meant.

“Oh come on,” she chuckled darkly, “Don’t tell me you didn’t see the way they glared at me as if I was Lilith incarnate about to damn your soul for eternity.”

“A bit melodramatic, aren’t we?” he laughed as they turned a corner, the hotel now in sight.

“You really didn’t notice?” Stella pressed on, her smile now completely gone as they walked towards the entrance of the building.

“They all seemed really nice to me,” he replied, his own smile faltering as he opened the door for her, allowing her to step into the hotel lobby before following her.

“Yeah, they were nice to _you_ ,” she shot back, walking briskly towards the elevators with Ashton hot on her heels.

“Oh come on,” he protested, “That girl you talked to was nice to you as well.”

“Ashton, she was the only one who didn’t look at me like I was something she wanted to scrape off the bottom of her shoe!” Stella protested, thoroughly annoyed at his unwillingness to see how hostile the majority of the girls had been.

“Well maybe if you hadn’t looked so unapproachable, they actually might have given you a chance,” he shot back, his good mood now also completely eradicated.

“Well maybe I wouldn’t look so, quote, unapproachable if they hadn’t been so god damn nasty,” she snapped, walking into the elevator, Ashton swiftly following her before the doors closed.

The ride up to her floor was spent in silence, both of them silently seething as the cart rode up. The ride was way too long for Stella’s liking and quite honestly, she regretted having invited him back with her. He obviously didn’t consider himself uninvited though, since he was once again following her closely as she stepped out of the elevator and walked towards her room.

As he followed her into her hotel room, she couldn’t hold back a snide remark.

“Well sure, come on in, make yourself at home,” she muttered, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

“Don’t mind if I do,” he retorted, plopping himself down on one of the couches in the lounge of the room.

“Oh come on,” she groaned, “Don’t be a little bitch because I called some of your fans out on their shitty behavior.”

“Oh sure, because you were such an example of niceness,” he shot back, grabbing his phone from his pocket and started to scroll through one of the apps on the device.

“Oh, I’m nice to people who deserve it,” she snapped, “and quite frankly those girls were the ones who decided to be nasty first.”

“What are you, five?” he snickered, not lifting his gaze from his phone as he mocked her in a high-pitched voice, “They were mean to me first so I’m allowed to be mean to them.”

“Fuck you, Irwin,” Stella seethed, “Just because you’re too stubborn to admit that your precious little army could be anything but the angels you imagine them to be.”

“You’re not exactly an angel either Taylor,” he retorted, shooting her an icy glare before returning his gaze to whatever app he was scrolling through.

“Don’t you think I fucking know that?” she spat, “At least I can stand by my fucking actions.”

“What the hell has made you so bitter?” Ashton glared at her, “Didn’t mummy and daddy give you enough hugs or something?”

Although it was clear that he regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth, Stella was absolutely done with him.

“Stella, I’m sorr-“

“Get out,” she fumed, pointing towards the door, face twisted in a grimace of anger.

“I didn’t mean-“

“Get. The fuck. Out,” she repeated, “Don’t you fucking dare tell me you didn’t mean it, you don’t say shit like that without meaning it.”

Stuffing his phone back into his pocket as he stood up, Ashton made his way towards the door, every trace of animosity immediately wiped off his face. If Stella hadn’t been absolutely livid, she would have been amused by how much the 6 foot tall drummer looked like a kicked puppy.

“If I’m such a bitch,” she continued as he walked towards the door, “You’re more than welcome to call my manager and call off this whole deal. In fact, I would be delighted if I never had to see your face again.”

Ashton didn’t reply; he simply let her rage at him as he trudged towards the door before letting himself out. As soon as the door closed behind him, Stella let out a breath she didn’t even know she had been holding in. Closing her eyes as she took a few deep breaths, she knew she could expect a call from a livid Abigail as soon as her manager heard of the turn the day’s events had taken, just like she made a decision to stay completely clear of Twitter for the rest of the day.

Her manager was beaten to it though, as Stella’s phone rang barely thirty minutes after Ashton had left, Michael’s name flashing across the screen. She had a feeling he would keep calling if she didn’t answer though; if there was one thing she had learned about Michael in the short time they had known each other, it was that he was quite relentless, so she answered the call, heaving a sigh as she did so.

“What do you want, Clifford?” she grumbled.

“Well hello to you too,” he replied, “Ashton just walked in five minutes ago looking like someone had killed his dog, and now he’s furiously scrolling through Twitter, biting our heads off if we try to talk to him. Would you mind filling me in on what the fuck happened?”

“I hate his guts and would prefer to never have anything to do with him ever again,” she bit at the guitarist, “It’s not like it’s any of your god damn business anyway, but if you’re so eager for your daily dose of gossip, you should just ask your drummer what happened.”

“Well now I’m asking you,” he shot back, “And I want to know why one of my best friends came back looking like he was ready to murder someone.”

“Fine then,” she snapped, “I got the nastiest attitudes from some of your little fans, but because one of them was nice to me it apparently makes it all okay according to him, and when I disagreed with him he got really pissy about it.”

“Okay,” Michael said, “That does not explain the level of anger that’s filling the room right now though.”

“I’m not going to take responsibility for his mood swings,” Stella fumed, “When he left he was looking like a kicked puppy. He’s the one who needs to think before he fucking speaks.”

“Okay, I’m not even sure I want to know what he said,” he admitted, “This is going to take some serious fucking patching up though, am I right?”

“There’s nothing to patch up,” she scoffed in reply, “I’m done playing happy families with your little boyband, please remind Ashton to call my manager to cancel the deal. I’m out. Also, don’t even bother calling me again.”

“Nice, Stella,” Michael dead-panned, “Really fucking nice. And here I thought there was actually a decent human being somewhere behind the ice-bitch exterior.”

With that, he ended the conversation and hung up, leaving Stella standing in the middle of her hotel room with her phone in her hand. Letting out a yell of frustration, she chucked her phone across the room, honestly not caring if it broke.

Taking another deep breath, she walked into the bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The girl looking back at her was visibly shook up, anger lighting a fire in her eyes as she stared herself down.

“It’s for the best, Stella,” she mumbled to herself.

“People hurt you if they get too close. And you’re done being hurt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr [here](http://www.damnitashtonirwin.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Feedback through comments/kudos is greatly appreciated, thank you for reading :)


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now have a beta-reader who's almost as in love with Stella as I am xD Tori, you're amazing, thank you!

Stella had honestly expected her manager to call and have a fit soon after the call from Michael, but her phone had been surprisingly quiet all day. It wasn’t until that evening while she was mindlessly flipping through the channels on the TV that her ringtone blasted through the room and Abigail’s name flashed on the screen.

“Hi Abigail,” Stella said as she picked up, biting her lip as she awaited the scolding of a lifetime.

“Don’t you ‘hi’ me, Stella Marie Taylor,” the voice of her manager hissed in her ear, “Would you be so kind as to please explain to me why the hell there’s a Twitter-feud going on right now?”

“What do you mean, Twitter-feud?” Stella asked, genuinely confused, “I haven’t been on Twitter all day so I haven’t seen anything!”

“Let me fill you in then,” Abigail fumed, “The 5 Seconds Of Summer fandom is thoroughly pissed off at you and going all out with hateful tweets.”

“Okay,” Stella replied, “But doesn’t a feud usually involve two parties? One fandom lashing out is hardly a Twitter-feud, Abigail.”

“Don’t get smart with me missy,” her manager snapped, “It became a Twitter-feud when your fans started replying to them, defending you.”

“Wait, they’re defending me?” Stella asked incredulously.

She knew her relationship with her fans wasn’t like in other fandoms. In fact it had been a bit rocky lately, partly due to some of the rumors about her and her party-lifestyle, partly due to her own inactivity on social media, but at least a small core group of her fans had stayed loyal to her regardless of what had been happening. As it sunk in that her fans were all rallying behind her, supporting her to the level of the whole thing becoming a social media war, a small smile found its way onto her face.

“Of course they’re defending you, they are your fans,” Abigail huffed, “But I’m dead serious Stella, if you know what sparked this I want you to tell me right now.”

“Abigail I have been offline all day,” Stella replied, “I went out for coffee with Irw- Ashton earlier though, and we had a little run-in with some 5SOS fans. All of them were giving me really nasty looks except for this one girl. I don’t know, maybe some of them tweeted something pissy about him and I being out together.”

“I see,” her manager mused, seemingly calming down a bit if the tone of her voice was anything to go by, “Did you get spotted by anyone else?”

Stella sighed inwardly. Of course two musicians taking a stroll down a busy street in the middle of the day would get noticed.

“We had a lovely little entourage of paparazzis following us around five minutes after he picked me up,” she replied, “The pictures are probably already on some of the online news sites.”

“Good, good,” Abigail replied, “We still need to do something about this feud, though, and by we, I mean you.”

“What do you want me to do?” Stella sighed, knowing full well that Abigail wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Tweet something,” the woman replied, “And be civil please, no nasty comments.”

“You’ve got it,” Stella mumbled, “I’ll tweet something deep and profound.”

“Good,” Abigail said, either oblivious to the sarcasm in Stella’s voice or simply just ignoring it, “You should probably stay clear of your mentions, though, and don’t go anywhere near the trending topics, okay?”

“Okay, mom,” Stella smirked.

“I’m just looking out for you,” the older woman chuckled, “Remember, keep it clean, okay? That means no indirects either.”

“Oh and Stella, while I’ve got you on the phone,” she continued, “Don’t forget you have a radio interview tomorrow. Judging by the scale of this Twitter thing already they’re probably going to ask about it, so I just wanted to give you a heads up.”

“Alright, thank you,” Stella replied, “I promise to keep it civil, don’t worry.”

With that the conversation ended and the pair hung up. Looking down at her phone, Stella found herself scrolling through the apps before hovering a finger over the Twitter-icon. She took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare herself for what she might see.

“Here we go,” she muttered to herself. Based on past experience with social media, she expected nothing less than harsh words directed at her person.

Then she pressed down.

Her timeline showed no sign of the mentioned feud, so she decided to go against Abigail’s advice and went straight to the trending topics. Two hashtags immediately caught her attention.

_#5sosFamAgainstStellaTaylor_

_#StellaTaylorDefenseSquad2k15_

Deciding to start on a positive note, she tapped the defense squad hashtag. She couldn’t stop a smile from spreading on her face as she read through some of the tweets.

_@StellaTaylorFanArmy: God, who pissed in the 5sos fam’s cereal today? #StellaTaylorDefenseSquad2k15_

_@StellaTaylorismyqueen: If you think name-calling is going to help you achieve anything, I’ve got some news for y’all #StellaTaylorDefenseSquad2k15_

_@StellaTaylorRocksMySocks: The 5sos fam is really not showing themselves from their best side today, are they? #StellaTaylorDefenseSquad2k15_

_@lolbuturnotStellaTaylor: @5SOS must be so proud of their fans right now *insert sarcasm* #StellaTaylorDefenseSquad2k15_

_@StellaTaylorUpdates: Sorry 5sos fam, I can’t hear you over the sound of @StellaTaylor ‘s award-winning albums #StellaTaylorDefenseSquad2k15_

Stella couldn’t help but chuckle to herself at the words of her fans as well as their ingenuity when it came to usernames as she kept scrolling through the tag. Some of the tweets were less passive-aggressive than others, but she was happy to see that a majority had chosen to fight back with sarcasm and witty words instead of badmouthing and name-calling.

After another minute of scrolling she returned to the trending topics, ready to see what the 5 Seconds Of Summer fans had to say about her. As soon as she had tapped the hashtag, a flood of tweets showed up on her screen.

_@LashtonIsLife: @StellaTaylor is not a role model, she’s a feminazi freakshow #5sosFamAgainstStellaTaylor_

_@l0ngwayh0me: Stella Taylor? More like Stella Fail-or. #5sosFamAgainstStellaTaylor_

_@michaelissenpai: My butt makes better music when I rip ass #5sosFamAgainstStellaTaylor_

_@GoodGirlsAreBadGirls: When will @StellaTaylor realize that no one likes her? #5sosFamAgainstStellaTaylor_

_@mixtapestr8outta94: Look at @StellaTaylor trying to use our boys to stay relevant #5sosFamAgainstStellaTaylor_

Her scrolling came to a halt as her phone alerted her of a new text message, the contact name on her screen making another smile break out on her face.

 **Jack-Ass** : _Saw what’s happening on Twitter. Check my feed. Hope you’re okay x_

Smiling fondly as she read the text, she sent Jack a friendly thought and an affirmative reply that yes, she was okay. She had met the All Time Low boys roughly a year and a half earlier when they had attended the same event, immediately hitting it off after Jack had introduced himself with the words “I may or may not have tweeted about your ass”.

She exited her text messages and opened Twitter again, this time heading straight over to Jack’s account and saw that he had tweeted something in response to a hateful tweet.

_@y0ur_band_sucks: @StellaTaylor is so gross not even Jack Barakat would touch her #5sosFamAgainstStellaTaylor_

_@JackAllTimeLow: @y0ur_band_sucks “@JackAllTimeLow: That @StellaTaylor has one hell of a voice… And one hell of an ass” Y’all are wrong_

Laughing out loud at his reply, she quickly tapped the reply field and typed out a response.

_@StellaTaylor: @JackAllTimeLow if I didn’t do it every day already, I’d beat the shit out of you._

Within seconds people were favoriting and retweeting her reply, and she returned to his feed of tweets. She was about to start scrolling as she saw another post that he had retweeted just seconds ago, which turned out to be an indirect response to yet another attack on her that she remembered seeing while scrolling through the tag.

_@5secondsof1d: @StellaTaylor needs to get her sleazy slut hands off of @Ashton5SOS #5sosFamAgainstStellaTaylor_

_@Ashton5SOS: Sad and disappointed too see that slut shaming isn’t outdated yet. Come on guys._

Her eyes kept skimming over the words on her screen, and as she reread the tweet she realized her mouth was hanging open in surprise. After checking the time stamp on the post it dawned on her that Ashton had indeed posted this just a couple of hours ago, meaning he had written it after their fight earlier. Even after what had happened he was still sticking up for her, even though it wasn’t unmistakably addressing anyone, and she could feel her heart sink into the pit of her stomach.

Ashton Irwin was truly a genuinely nice person.

Even though it did not in any way make up for what he had said earlier, Stella still had to admit that she was touched by the gesture, inaccurate grammar and everything. With new found determination she headed back to her timeline and hit the icon to create a new tweet.

_@StellaTaylor: Don’t let the negativity affect you. Love is all you need, and I love all of you. S x_

Deciding that it was vague enough to not specifically target anyone but still getting her message across, she took another deep breath and hit the “tweet” button. As soon as the tweet was posted and out there for everyone to see, she exited the app and locked her phone before putting it down on the table in front of her.

In her opinion, she had done what she could. Now all that was left to do was to wait and ride it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr [here](http://www.damnitashtonirwin.tumblr.com)
> 
> Feedback is very much appreciated, so feel free to leave comments and/or kudos, thank you for reading :)


	14. Chapter 13 pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the next chapter! I had to split it in two due to length, but part 2 is coming soon :)

As the sound of her alarm ripped her out of a blissful slumber, Stella was pleasantly surprised to find that she was actually feeling somewhat rested. The events and emotional rollercoaster of the previous day had worn her out, and she had surprisingly found herself in bed before midnight. A night out had been completely out of the question.

After checking the time and seeing that she had two hours before she was being picked up, Stella got out of bed and trotted towards the bathroom. To be quite honest, her body still held some leftover tension from yesterday, and as she stepped under the warm water cascading from the showerhead, she couldn’t help the deep sigh leaving her mouth. The water felt nothing less than heavenly as she scrubbed her body, not even caring that maybe she was being a tad too rough in her endeavors, her skin turning an angry shade of red from her vigorous scrubbing as if it would make everything that happened the day before disappear.

She stood under the warm water for a few more minutes before shutting off the water and stepping out of the shower. After drying off, she moved on to get ready, dressing quickly before finishing off by applying her makeup and taming her damp hair, and soon enough, she was done. Taking another glance at her phone, she realized she still had a good 45 minutes before being picked up for her upcoming radio interview.

Sitting down on the couch in the lounge area of her hotel room, Stella thought about the interview ahead. She wasn’t really nervous; she had been on this particular show before, and the host had never been anything but nice to her. In fact, she had genuinely enjoyed herself every time she had been on his show. Being the host of a radio show, he never failed to focus on the music instead of the latest gossip, and on top of that he was just a pleasant person to be around, so Stella would be lying if she said she wasn’t looking forward to this interview in the slightest.

She still kept Abigail’s warning in mind, though, that yesterday’s Twitter drama might be brought up, and her thoughts were brought back to Ashton and his tweet. As her mind wandered to the previous day, now free of the cloudiness caused by the emotional rollercoaster, realization struck her like an oncoming freight train.

Maybe Ashton’s tweet hadn’t been out of the goodness of his heart after all.

No matter what had happened between them yesterday, no matter if they ever formed a real friendship or not, this was still a business deal. Ashton was still bound by contract to make it look as if he was sticking up for a friend, and Stella had to give it to him – he was good. He was really good; he even had her convinced that he had acted out of loyalty and friendship.

As the thought sunk in, Stella closed her eyes and leaned back into the soft cushions of the couch. Rubbing her temples, she let out a sigh as reality sunk in. This was never about friendship or whether she and Ashton got along. This was about her career and reputation, and eventually she would have to face Ashton as well as his band mates again. She also knew it was probably going to happen sooner rather than later.

Pushing any thought of Ashton to the back of her mind, she tried to return her focus to preparing for the upcoming interview. If the Twitter feud was going to be addressed, which it most likely would be, she had to be able to see it from both sides in order to stop it from escalating even further. While she was still quite overwhelmed by the support her fans had shown her, she knew she needed a window into the minds of the 5SOS fans, and after a good minute of trying to come up with a way to do that, her gaze fell on her phone lying on the coffee table in front of her.

What better way to gain access to the 5SOS fans’ minds than through the source of their adoration itself?

Picking up her phone and unlocking it, she went straight to her contacts. She scrolled right past Ashton’s name, still not wanting to talk to him unless she absolutely had to, and Calum’s name was passed as well, seeing as it was barely past 9:30AM and he was most likely still asleep. With her options being limited to Luke and Michael, Stella paused her scrolling for a moment as Luke’s name appeared on her screen. Remembering yesterday’s phone call from Michael, she doubted that he would even pick up if she tried to call him.

Making a swift decision, she pressed down on the screen and called Luke.

“Hello?” the blonde Aussie replied after the second ring.

“Hey, Luke, it’s Stella,” she said, “Do you have a moment?”

“Yeah, sure, uh… Hold on a second,” he said, followed by the sound of movement on his end.

“Alright, what’s up?”

“Well,” she began, “I have this radio interview in about 30 minutes, and Abigail thinks they’re going to bring up the whole Twitter thing yesterday, and I just… I really want to be as neutral about it as possible. I mean, I’m obviously thrilled that my fans came together to support me, but I also want to be able to see it from your fans’ perspective, you know?”

“Yeah, I get what you mean,” Luke replied, “How can I help?”

“I need to try to understand how your fans’ minds work,” Stella said, “Like, what prompted that reaction from them? What is the dynamic like between you guys and your fans?”

“To be honest, we don’t always understand our fans either,” Luke chuckled, “But as for yesterday’s, uh, incident, I think it just comes down to them being incredibly protective of us. I mean, they’re called the 5SOS family because they are like family to us, you know? As for the more hateful comments, it’s something that comes with being associated with us, I suppose. I’m not saying what happened was in any way okay, I’m just saying it happens. Our fans can be very passionate, some of them are just more, uh, vocal about it.”

“Alright, passionate and protective,” Stella muttered, “Got it. Anything I shouldn’t say in the interview, in case some of your fans are listening?”

“You probably shouldn’t joke about being a bad influence on us,” Luke replied, “Most of them would know it was a joke, but some might take it very literally and probably start round two of the Twitter war.”

“No bad influence jokes,” she repeated, “Alright.”

“And Stella,” Luke continued, a smile evident in his voice, “Try not to chew up another interviewer, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I actually like this interviewer,” Stella chuckled at his words, “I’ve been on his show before, he’s great.”

“Alright, just making sure,” Luke laughed.

A few seconds of silence fell between the two before Luke broke it.

“Was there anything else?” he asked, his voice nothing but friendly.

“Yeah, uh,” she said, fiddling slightly with her lower lip, a nervous habit of hers, “How, uh, how are things on your end? You know, after everything that happened.”

“You mean are Mikey and Ashton still mad?” Luke countered with a slight chuckle.

“Yeah, that,” Stella said, chuckling nervously.

On one hand, she didn’t really care how Ashton and Michael were after her conversations with them yesterday, but on the other hand she knew it would be better to be on at least decent terms with them, especially Ashton, since she would most definitely be seeing them in the near future.

“Well, uh, I don’t think Michael’s going to come around any time soon,” Luke replied, sounding slightly apologetic, “He was actually upset with Ash for sticking up for you on Twitter yesterday. He just needs some time, Stella.”

“I honestly don’t blame him, I was being a major bitch,” she mumbled, “And Ashton?”

“To be honest, if I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s completely forgotten it even happened, whatever it was that went down between the two of you,” Luke said, “He was all smiles and giggles over breakfast earlier, which is pretty much his usual self.”

“Seriously?” Stella asked incredulously, “Does that guy have the emotional range of a teaspoon or something?”

“Nah,” Luke chuckled, “He’s just not the type of person that holds on to negativity, you know? Life is too short, and all that.”

“Great,” Stella muttered, “Just great.”

“How are you doing, though?” he asked, “How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay,” she replied, “It takes more than a few angry teenage girls to throw me off.”

At her words Luke let out a chuckle, and Stella couldn’t help the smile spreading on her own face.

“Well,” he said, “If you need someone to talk to, even if it’s to vent about Ashton being an idiot, feel free to call me, okay?”

“I will,” Stella smiled, “Thanks, Luke.”

“Any time, Stella. Take care, okay?”

“You too,” she replied before ending the call, the smile still on her face.

When the hotel room phone rang a few minutes later to inform her that her ride had arrived, it was with renewed energy and a spring in her step that Stella got ready to leave. She finally felt like she had a true ally in this mess of a business deal, and she was fairly certain nothing could ruin her mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr [here](http://www.damnitashtonirwin.tumblr.com)
> 
> Feedback is very much appreciated, so feel free to leave comments and/or kudos, thank you for reading :)


	15. Chapter 13 pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I'm back!   
> So I realized this has been lying around on my laptop for almost a year, so I thought, why not post it?
> 
> Also I read through the entire thing and it made me hella nostalgic because it reminded me just how much I loved Stella and how much I loved writing her, so idk, I might just pick this back up... Bc Stella.

As she stepped out of the car, Stella was not surprised to see Abigail waiting for her outside the radio station.

“Stella,” the older woman greeted her with a smile, “you’re actually 5 minutes early!”

“Yeah, traffic was a breeze,” Stella replied with a smile of her own, quickly stepping into the building as Abigail held the door open for her.

“Well, let’s get to it then,” Abigail told her as they walked down the familiar hallway, “We can listen in for a bit before they cut for break.”

As they came to a halt outside the studio booth, Stella’s gaze landed on the man on the other side of the soundproof glass whose voice sounded through the speakers in the production room. Once he noticed her, his face lit up in a friendly smile as he wrapped up the current segment, before announcing that he would be right back after the next song, and that he would be joined by someone very special.

As the opening bars of the chosen song floated from the speakers, Stella was ushered into the studio and was immediately met with an even wider smile and a hug.

“Stella Taylor, as I live and breathe,” the man chuckled as she hugged him back.

“Dan,” she greeted him with an equally wide smile, “Long time, no see.”

Stella had decided a long time ago that she liked Dan. She had been on his radio show numerous times before, and the slightly older man was known to be truly professional. He always made a point to make music the focal point of an interview and rarely, if ever, brought up gossip. Dan had become a radio host because of his love for music, and every memory Stella had of being interviewed by him was nothing but positive. Seeing as they had had quite a few encounters during her career, not to mention the fact that every single one had been a good experience, Stella had come to trust Dan and, in extension, the pair had built up a friendship.

“Come on,” he smiled as they parted from the hug, “let’s get you set up with headphones and a mic.”

“You look nice by the way, as always,” he continued while he helped her get set up, “good thing too, because we’re streaming the interview live on our website, video and everything.”

“Well, well,” Stella grinned, “look at you, Mr. Fancy Radio Host!”

“Alright, alright, Sassypants, just get those headphones on,” Dan laughed, “we’re live in less than 30 seconds.”

The song had barely ended before Dan started talking into his mic, immediately snapping back into radio host-mode.

“Alright, that was of course Simple Plan’s song “Boom”, and I am now joined in the studio by my special guest and good friend, Stella Taylor!” he said, “Stella, say hello.”

“Hello,” she chuckled into her microphone.

“Before we begin, Stella, I just have to announce that this is being filmed, and that we are right now streaming live so if you guys out there can, go watch on our website via your laptop or smartphone because if I may be so bold, Stella looks absolutely stunning today,” Dan informed the listeners.

“Aw Dan, now you’re just flattering me,” Stella joked.

“Just telling it like it is,” he joked back before continuing, “So Stella, it’s absolutely wonderful to have you back on the show. What have you been up to lately?”

“Well, I’ve had an album to finish, so that’s taken up quite a bit of my time,” she told him, “Other than that, I’ve had a bit of free time, so I’ve mainly just enjoyed having some time to myself.”

“Ah yes, you have an album coming up,” Dan said, “and to be honest with you, I am beyond excited to hear what you’ve put together. What can you tell us about it?”

“Actually Dan, I have some exclusive details just for you and your listeners,” Stella grinned, having been given the green light from Abigail to start giving information about the album.

“The album is called “Bodies and Minds” and is going to be out exactly six weeks from today,” she continued, “and to be quite honest with you, I’m very proud of how it turned out. I can’t wait for you guys to hear it.”

“That’s an interesting title,” Dan commented, “why did you choose that particular title?”

“Because,” she replied, “a majority of the songs deal with feelings most of us go through at certain points in our lives like heartbreak, loneliness and frustration, as well as the positives like being in love or having hopes and dreams, and all of these are felt, more or less, in both our bodies and minds.”

“That is so clever!” Dan gushed, “That actually gave me goosebumps!”

“Now,” he continued, “on your first album “Reputation” you were involved in the writing of every song that made it onto the album. Is that the case on “Bodies and Minds” as well?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Stella said, “it’s very important to me that my songs are just that, _my_ songs, and even though I’ve had the privilege of writing with some very talented people on this album, I still feel like every song on it is a product of me and my experiences and emotions.”

“See, now you’ve got me even more excited about the album,” Dan chuckled, “are you allowed to tell us who you’ve been writing with?”

“Well, I don’t want to give away too much,” Stella smiled as she glanced towards Abigail through the glass window separating the studio from the production room, wordlessly checking with the older woman that what she was doing was okay and receiving a nod in return.

“But,” she continued, “I can tell you that a couple of the songs were written with a good friend of mine, who’s also an incredibly talented songwriter and someone I’ve looked up to for years.”

“And who might that be? Are you allowed to drop any names?” Dan asked with a playful smile.

“In this particular case, I’m talking about Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low,” Stella revealed.

“Ah yes, Alex! He’s a cool guy, crazy talented too,” Dan commented, “What was it like working with him?”

“To be honest Dan, it was kind of surreal,” Stella chuckled, “I mean yeah, it was so nice to work with one of my best friends, because it allows for a more open and honest environment to write in, but on the other hand I’ve been a fan of All Time Low for years, just like I’ve looked up to Alex as a songwriter for ages, so it was also a bit daunting to actually get to write with him.”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Dan agreed, “How did that arrangement come about anyway?”

“It was pretty straight-forward, really,” Stella explained, “We had talked about writing together a few times, so I just called him up like, “Hey man, do you have time to write a song or two with me?” and luckily he did, so we just went into the studio for a few days and ended up with a couple of kick-ass songs.”

“Oh man, I’m so excited to hear them,” Dan smiled, “now, speaking of friends – and I’m sorry to bring this up, you know I try to keep this show gossip-free – but something happened on Twitter yesterday, and some of your friends, as well as your fan base, really rallied behind you.”

“Now, for those of you who don’t know,” he elaborated, “a Twitter-war broke out yesterday between Stella’s fans and the 5 Seconds Of Summer fandom. There’s really no delicate way to put this Stella, so I’m just going to ask, what the hell happened?”

“To be honest, Dan, I’m not quite sure,” Stella replied honestly, “I really have no idea what sparked the whole thing. I’m just grateful that my fans were so supportive of me.”

“Could it have something to do with your new found friendship with the 5SOS guys?” Dan asked, “I mean, last week you were all partying together, and yesterday you and Ashton went out for coffee together. I could imagine some of their fans might not be too pleased with that, considering your reputation as, let’s just say, someone who likes to party.”

“I mean, it’s possible,” Stella shrugged, “I know the boys’ fan base is incredibly dedicated to them and protective of them – the guys don’t call them the 5SOS family for nothing – so I guess it’s only natural for them to be critical of any new friends the boys make.”

“Makes sense,” Dan nodded, “but like I said, both your fans and some of your friends stood up for you yesterday, including Ashton from 5SOS and Jack Barakat of All Time Low. Did it make it easier to know you had that kind of support?”

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Stella said, “I mean, Jack is my best friend and I can always count on him to say something witty to make me feel better, and Ashton’s tweet really helped as well. He’s a great guy, Ashton. His heart is definitely in the right place.”

Stella knew she was lying through her teeth at this point, and part of her did feel bad about lying to Dan, of all people. Never the less, she knew that her real opinion on Ashton didn’t matter at that moment – the lie was now set in motion, and she had to roll with it, even it meant lying to her friend. She, and Ashton for that matter, would have to tell the world an even bigger lie soon anyway.

“Indeed he is,” Dan agreed, “and Jack is, well, he’s something else, isn’t he?”

“Oh, he is,” Stella laughed, “the first thing he ever said to me was “Hi, I’m Jack, and I may or may not have tweeted about your ass”.”

“You’re kidding!” Dan said with a laugh of his own.

“I’m not, I swear,” Stella replied, still laughing, “needless to say, we clicked immediately. He texted me yesterday as soon as he saw what was happening on Twitter, to check if I was okay. He’s the best friend anyone can ask for really. I love him to bits. Don’t tell him I said that though, or I’ll never hear the end of it!”

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me,” Dan chuckled, “well, me and my listeners, so if Jack’s listening, I’m sorry Stella but you’re screwed.”

“Yeah, I know,” Stella laughed.

“Well, Stella, it has been an absolute pleasure but we have to wrap this up,” Dan said, “I don’t think I need to tell you how excited I am for the release of your album, “Bodies and Minds”, and hopefully you’ll have a single ready for me to play soon.”

With that, the interview was over, and as Dan informed the listeners of what was coming up next before putting on the next song, Stella took off her headphones and put them down on the table next to her mic. As the song played, Dan followed Stella to the door between the studio and the production room.

“It was so good to see you,” he told her as he gave her a hug, “Don’t be a stranger now, you hear?”

“I hear you, Dan,” she replied with a smile, “thank you for having me, it’s always a pleasure.”

“Alright,” Dan said as the pair pulled away before opening the door for her, “Take care, kid.”

“You too,” Stella smiled before stepping out into the production room and walking over to Abigail.

As she reached her manager, Stella reached into the pocket of her leather jacket and pulled out her phone. Checking the device, she noticed she had two new messages. She quickly unlocked her phone and headed to her inbox. One message was from Jack, the other was from Luke. She decided to read the one from Jack first.

**Jack-Ass:** _Aww, I’m your best friend?_

The words were followed by a series of blushing and/or winking emojis, and Stella couldn’t help but chuckle to herself as she tapped out a reply.

_Shut up Jack-Ass, I hate your guts_.

Adding a series of emojis that would have seemed threatening to anyone else, she hit ‘send’ and almost immediately got a reply.

**Jack-Ass:** _Nah you love me, I heard you say so myself!_

Before she could reply, another text ticked in from Jack.

**Jack-Ass:** _Seriously tho, great interview. I’m proud of you (so are the others, we were all listening)_

Stella quickly typed out a reply saying thanks and to say hi to the others. Then she returned to her inbox and tapped the screen to open the text from Luke.

**Luke 5SOS:** _Great job Stella, you did good. Ashton and I were listening, couldn’t drag the other 2 out of bed :) I’m proud of you._

Smiling as she read Luke’s message, she typed out a quick “thank you for your help” before locking her phone and putting it back in her pocket.

Her smile didn’t fade as she followed Abigail through the hallway and out to the car waiting for her. As much as she still disliked Ashton and the deal she was now nearly irrevocably stuck in, knowing she had friends like Luke and the All Time Low guys made it as close to bearable as it was probably going to get.


End file.
